Treatsie Tuesdays! (Lemon Tart)

Oh, wait – you thought it was about sunshine, tan lines, and bodies of water? Okay, well it is sort of about that. But it’s mostly about this lemon tart with fresh picked-that-morning rasperries. Mmmhmm. Lemon + Rasperry = Shut up. So delicious.

So – okay. I have a confession to make. It’s major. It’s a habit that could very well be detrimental to my well-being. But for some reason, like most addictions, it is so hard to quit. Now, I have only told maybe 3 people about my secret, but have decided it’s time to come clean with all of you. Sigh… here it goes.

I’m a closet Bachelorette watcher. Eep! I said it.

That’s right. Every Tuesday morning, I eat my breakfast and watch last night’s episode of the Bachelorette on my computer. There’s proof:

Here’s the thing – I have no clue why I love watching this show. It’s dramatic. And it’s a bit twisted how this one person dates all these other people at the same time. The girl falls for numerous guys. There are kisses enough for everyone. It’s so misleading, right? But … also not? Because maybe they’ll really fall in love with one person. Good grief. But, really. You get to know 25 guys over a few months and then one of them is supposed to be your husband? I don’t know. I don’t understand it, but I find myself crawling back to see what happens next! I love seeing the dates they go on and I like cheering on my favorite guy (or girl if you’re watching The Bachelor). It’s a crazy mess. I love it. But I don’t. But I love it! Can you explain to me why I watch this show? And please tell me you also watch it. Please tell me that.

Anyway, on to much more important things – like lemon tart.

Oooh. Lemon tart.

Want to know how to make it? No problem. Piece of cake. Err… tart. (Why do we say that? Cake is not the easiest thing to make. What would be the easiest thing to make? Hmm. Annie’s Mac ‘n Cheese. Chocolate milk. No… I know. Probably a tomato. You just pick it. And eat it. Easy peasy. Piece of tomato.)

So, here’s the deal – You gotta gather the goods. The victims: A ball of tart dough (that I would have shown you how to make if I didn’t make it at 11 p.m. the night before and forget my brain, subsequently forgetting that I’m supposed to photograph things as I go), sugar, unsalted butter, eggs, lemon* (I used Meyer), cornstarch, salt.

First – butter your tart pan.

Then you’ll need to grab some parchment paper and cut it in a 12″ circle. This is hard, people. Cutting large circles is not my forte. Wait till you see my very square-like circle. Grab a bit of flour and dust it all over your paper. (You can skip this part if you are using an already-made tart shell. If so, prepare that tart shell as directed on the box and proceed to the lemon filling.)

Once you’ve got that all floured up, plop your ball of dough on top and roll it out. You want your rolled dough to be large enough to fit in your tart pan, with excess dough hanging off the sides.

Now you have to slide your hand underneath the parchment and flip the dough into the tart pan. The parchment should be on top now, closest to the ceiling.

Peel off the paper and toss it out. Next, you’re going to want to press in the sides of the dough so that it fits all nice and evenly snug in the pan. You will have some extra dough hanging over. No worries, just fold it in to make a double-thick crust or trim it off if you’d like. I actually tore some of my edges off and filled some cracks that were forming on the bottom of my tart dough.

Now – you have to pop this puppy in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. This will help to keep it from shrinking. And you won’t have to use pie weights.

Yes, I used a frozen burrito to prop up my tart. Don’t judge.

When that is finished getting frozen, butter the shiny side of some foil and cover the dough with it, buttered side down.

Pop it in a hot oven for 20-ish minutes. When it comes out, it’ll be a bit brown… this is good! Browned things taste good. Let that guy cool to room temp before you start in on the lemon filling. I may or may not have stuck my hot tart shell in front of the fan to cool it down. It’s good I don’t have dogs. Or bunnies. Or children. If you have any of those things, refrain from sticking your hot tart shell on the ground. It’s just the right thing to do. We are against scalding small cute things over here.

When that’s all cooled down, start in on your lemon filling. This will seriously only take minute. Maybe two. But, you’ll need a food processor. That is the secret to made-in-a-minute filling.

Slice up your lemon real thin. The whole thing. Peel, flesh, everything. Just make sure to remove the seeds.

Plop those guys into your processor along with your butter and your sugar. Process until the lemon is completely demolished.

Next, add in your cornstarch, salt, and four eggs.

Give it all a good whirl until the mixture is smoothed out.

I ended up adding more juice from another lemon. The lemon taste was not as powerful as I had wanted. I like my lemon to be like a lemon. Pour your batter into the tart shell and pop it in the oven for about 35 minutes (or until the filling is no longer jiggly when bumped).

It came out of my oven a bit browned on top with is totally fine.

You did it! You made lemon tart! Now, just dust it real good with powdered sugar. It’s pretty. And tasty.

This tart is delicious when it is chilled. I put mine in the fridge for a while because it’s summer and it’s hot and I don’t really want to eat warm things. But you can, if you’d like. But somehow – I think the flavors just meld together when they sit for a while.

This is one lemon tart you don’t want to miss out on. Besides making the tart shell (and even that wasn’t too bad), this was very simple to make. One processor. A whole lemon. You can’t beat it.

Big thanks to Deb from Smitten Kitchen for being a genius and sharing this lovely recipe with us. We owe you big time.

You can find the recipe for the tart dough here and the lemon tart here.

Now … it’s time to dig in!

*This particular recipe came out on the sweet side. I think next time I will add another lemon or use a regular, tarter, lemon. Meyer lemons are milder, which is what I used.

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5 thoughts on “Treatsie Tuesdays! (Lemon Tart)”

Wow, I am also a closet bachelorette watcher! It’s been very recent for me, I’m more a fan of the bachelorette over the bachelor.. but I totally get it!
And seriously, your baked goods look so stinkin amazing! Like it should be in a magazine. For real!